Cajun Roux is to Gumbo …

As Pride, Pomp and Circumstance is to Graduation Ceremonies.

This article was first published on Dr. Kristina Henry Collins’ LinkedIn page (Original article: Pride, Pomp and Circumstance: The Symbolic Emotional Support within Rite of Passage was featured in print for SENGvine Newsletter, June 2018*)

Gumbo is a popular Louisiana dish that is enjoyed by many. The key to making a great Gumbo, one might argue, is in the art of m
aking an even more exceptional roux. The Roux is considered the foundational building block for Cajun cooking. With its strong aroma and dark color, cajun roux sets the “flavoristic” tone for Gumbo that is just as much a cultural significance as it is a soup base. So much so, there was a time in cajun/creole history that passing on roux-making skills to the next generation was considered a rite of passage.

With its Cajun roux base, Gumbo traditionally consists of what Louisianians call the “holy trinity of vegetables” – celery, peppers, and onions – along with meats and additional dressings. Featured with the music of Pomp and Circumstance and represented by its own “trinity” of sorts, graduation ceremonies include (1) a processional – a separation from existing status in society, (2) an inculcation – a personal transformation, and (3) a recessional – a return to society with a new status.

The month of May [and June] is full of celebrations and milestone recognitions on many school and college campuses across America. Most notable are graduation ceremonies that are filled with “pomp and circumstance”, a phrase used to signify a splendid celebration with ceremony. Pomp and Circumstance is also the title of the infamous composition by Sir Edward Elgar (Reynolds, 2010) that is [traditionally] played at most graduation ceremonies. Originally composed and played as a military march song in honor of King Edward VII’s coronation, the inspiration for Elgar’s (1901) “Pomp and Circumstance” title came from a line in Shakespeare’s Othello where Othello declared a loss of mental peace that came with the “pride, pomp, and circumstance of glorious war”. Four years later, when Yale University bestowed an honorary doctorate to King Edward VII, it was also played as he walked off stage. Afterwards, schools around the country began to adopt this tradition as part of their pageantry of ceremonial display in honor of graduating students. Proud family members, friends, and faculty come to show their support and share in this milestone accomplishment for graduates at all levels.

Pomp and Circumstance, along with the ritualistic activities and academic regalia worn by the graduates, continues to set the emotional tone for the celebratory event to this day. While it is an intangible concept, emotional tone plays a very important role in shaping feelings and sense of belonging surrounding the overall [college and graduation] experience. Graduation represents more than coursework completion. As a rite of passage, it symbolizes a student’s journey of separation from his or her existing status in society (processional), a personal transformation (inculcation), and a return to society with a new status (recessional). The traditional “pomp and circumstance” graduation ceremony is only one perspective for fostering this rite of passage.

Many schools and universities incorporate other ceremonial celebrations during this time as a culturally responsive complement to the traditional graduation that celebrates academic achievement, sense of community, and cultural heritage. Especially for marginalized or underrepresented students, these ceremonies add personal meaning and cultural value to the students’ educational process. For some, it represents “survival” in an environment that may not have always embraced or significantly recognized that part of them that they value most. Participating in a non-traditional rite of passage helps to reinforce who they are and the community of support available to them as they prepare to transition with a positive last experience.

One common example is the Lavender Ceremony. The Lavender graduation is a ceremony that honors the achievements and contributions of graduates from the LGBTQ+ community, including ally students (Human Rights Campaign, 2018). It was born out of the discrimination that Dr. Ronnie Sanio experienced when she was banned from attending the graduation of her children because of her sexual orientation. This experience triggered empathy to the pain that might be felt by LGBTQ+ students who were also denied an opportunity to participate in graduation ceremony. Thus, Sanio designed the first ceremony in 1995 at University of Washington. The lavender color represents the blended color of pink and black that gay men and women were forced to wear, respectively, as political prisoners in Nazi Germany. It is symbolic in that they took past symbols of hatred and reclaimed them, together, as a color of strength, survival, and pride.

Another common rite of passage held on college campuses as well as middle and high schools is the Sankofa Ceremony (Inniss, 2013). A Ghanian term, Sankofa means “go back and get it”. This African concept stresses the principle of honoring the past to inform one’s purpose and to guide one’s destiny. At the University of Georgia’s Rite of Sankofa, graduates are provided an opportunity during the ceremony to reflect on [their] experiences while at UGA to consciously identify “lessons learned” that will be used to move them forward. In addition, what distinguishes this program from the traditional graduation ceremony is family, friends, and/or faculty participate alongside the graduating students, whereby visually representing the shared achievement and support that embodies the student’s academic success. This inclusion of family is also often seen at home-school graduation ceremonies as well. For the UGA Sankofa ceremony, students receive a certificate of completion and is presented with a Kente stole, which represents African heritage and knowledge, to wear as part of their traditional graduation regalia.

Historically Kente stoles were associated with Historically Black College/ University (HBCU) students’ college experience, but for students predominately white institutions (PWIs), it’s another visual representation of pride in their cultural heritage that is not necessarily recognized by the university they attend. Students may choose the Kente stole with traditional African colors and Adrinkra symbols or wear the colors of their historical Black Greek-lettered organization. Featured above is Dr. Collins, donning her sorority colors at UGA where she earn three of her advanced degrees/certificates.

Learn more about SENG: Supporting the Emotional Needs of the Gifted

Learn more about graduation ceremonial Rite of Passage:

Rite of Passage Programming (2018). Coalition of Schools Educating Boys of Color. Retrieved from https://www.coseboc.org/sankofa-passages

Human Rights Campaign, (2018). Lavender Graduation. Retrieved from https://www.hrc.org/resources/lavender-graduation

Inniss, E. (2013, June 27). Sankofa’s culturally significant graduation ceremony. New York Amsterdam News. p. 29.

Pomp and Circumstance. (n.d.).Dictionary.com’s 21st Century Lexicon. Retrieved from http://www.dictionary.com/browse/pomp-and-circumstance

Reynolds, A. (2010). The King and the Troubadour: Edward VII & Edward Elgar. Elgar Society Journal, 16(5), 7-34.

Author: Kristina Henry Collins

Dr. Collins holds a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from The University of Georgia, where she also earned an Ed.S. degree and certification in Gifted and Creative Education. Dr. Collins holds a M.S.Ed. degree in mathematics from Jacksonville State University, and a B.S. degree in Engineering from The University of Alabama with a specialization and diploma in Cryptology and Electronic Surveillance certified by the United States Navy and six (6) years of military service. Her research focuses on STEM identity, STEM talent development, parent engagement, and multicultural gifted education. Dr. Collins has over 25 years of teaching, leadership, and formal mentoring experience in secondary, post-secondary, and military-based education. Her professional certifications include technology education, AP computer science, and educational leadership/administration. She is the core faculty of Talent Development at Texas State University, San Marcos. She teaches courses related to talent development and gifted education. She is a Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ) Institute Faculty Research Fellow, currently serving as the Co-I for NASA STEM Engagement and EPDC; her duties and responsibilities include, but not limited to, recruitment, development and retention of underrepresented faculty and students in STEM. Initially funded in part by NSF, Dr. Collins is the special research personnel and coordinator for Mentoring Matters (https://mentoringmatters.wp.txstate.edu), a vertical STEM mentoring program designed to sustain and build capacity for research and development for underrepresented faculty and students in STEM. Her current research includes a phenomenological study of women in science and engineering across the lifespan at various stages in the STEM pipeline. In 2018, Dr. Collins introduced the Black Student STEM Identity model, which is referenced and used as a framework in many STEM talent development programs. Dr. Collins expertise in multicultural gifted education, mentoring across the lifespan, and culturally-responsive STEM curriculum design affords her opportunity to engage professionals through graduate course instruction, professional development training and keynote presentations. Dr. Collins serves as the 2020-2022 President for Supporting the Emotional Needs of the Gifted, Inc. (SENG), one of the leading international, advocacy organizations for gifted and talented education. Select scholarly articles include: Confronting Color-Blind STEM Talent Development: Toward a Contextual Model for Black Student STEM Identity https://doi.org/10.1177/1932202X18757958 Undergraduate Research Experiences: Mentoring, Awareness, and Perceptions—A Case study at a Hispanic-Serving Institution https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-018-0105-8 View all posts by Kristina Henry Collins